[{"jcr:title":"Lead researcher of the National Observatory for Sustainable Mobility presents study in Canada","cq:tags_0":"area-de-conhecimento:políticas-públicas/urbanismo","cq:tags_1":"centro-de-conhecimento:laborat-rio-arq--futuro-de-cidades"},{"richText":"Luiz Pedro Silva’s study investigates how the expansion of metro, commuter rail and BRT systems in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area has influenced residents’ travel behavior","authorDate":"27/02/2026 09h35","madeBy":"Por","tag":"centro-de-conhecimento:laborat-rio-arq--futuro-de-cidades","title":"Lead researcher of the National Observatory for Sustainable Mobility presents study in Canada","variant":"imagecolor"},{"jcr:title":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"themeName":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"containerType":"containerTwo"},{"jcr:title":"Grid Container Section","layout":"responsiveGrid"},{"text":"For a public transportation system to effectively influence residents’ travel behavior, it must be easily accessible, fast, and competitive with other modes of transport. This is the main finding of the study [“Reaching potential users: the effects of a rapid transit expansion on travel behavior”](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5087529) , which analyzes how the expansion of high-capacity transit systems affects commuting choices. Authored by economist Luiz Pedro Silva, lead researcher of the National  [Observatory for Sustainable Mobility](https://www.motiva.com.br/instituto/observatorio/) at the Center for City Research together with Rafael Pereira (Ipea) and Fernando Perobelli (UFJF), the study examines changes in the behavior of residents in the Greater São Paulo area between 2007 and 2017, when several new high-capacity public transport lines were inaugurated. In October 2025, the article — developed from a chapter of Luiz’s doctoral thesis — was presented at the Urban Economics Association (UEA) North America Meeting, held in Montreal, Canada. Held annually, the conference is one of the most influential events in the field of urban economics, a discipline that emerged in the 1970s and develops theories and applies quantitative tools to evaluate the relationships that shape urban spaces. “Among the hundreds of studies presented on October 3 and 4, this was the only one produced by Brazilian researchers,” says Luiz. “I received excellent feedback and valuable suggestions to improve the study — in addition to expanding my professional network and opening doors for new high-impact research partnerships.” For Helena Coelho, Deputy Coordinator of the Urban Mobility Cell and of the National Observatory for Sustainable Mobility at the Center for City Research, the event represents an opportunity to connect Brazilian urban economics research to the international stage. “This exchange enables the absorption of new ideas and practices, while also giving visibility to how this field of research has been developed in Brazil, promoting knowledge exchanges that benefit all involved.”   Advantages of rail systems The study relied on household travel survey data and spatial mobility information across the metropolitan area to estimate changes in travel behavior and commuting conditions over a ten-year period. The objective was to examine how changes in population density and in job and educational opportunities within the catchment areas of rapid transit stations influence individual commuting decisions — all within the context of one of Latin America’s largest urban areas, where the share of car trips increased from 37% to 46% of total trips between 1977 and 2017, and average commuting time rose from 37 minutes in 1992 to 44 minutes in 2015. The results show that population growth within the catchment areas of rail stations positively influenced passenger numbers and travel flows. By contrast, the expansion of BRT station catchment areas did not produce the same effect on ridership or bus travel flows. This difference is explained by the fact that the travel time gap between cars and public transportation became more favorable for rail systems, but not for buses, during the period analyzed. This means that expanding the network alone is not enough: new options must provide faster travel, better access to stations, and greater accessibility to opportunities through public transportation. “Many factors are involved in deciding which mode to use. Walking time to a station or BRT stop is one of them. Vehicle speed is another — and this is an area where metros and trains offer important advantages over automobiles,” says the economist, who intends to expand the study by analyzing data from 2018 to 2025, a period marked by the impact of the pandemic and the increased use of ride-hailing services. “The study contributes by proposing a way to measure the impact of urban transport public policies on travel behavior,” says Helena. “This was achieved by combining land-use configurations — through the urban form of the São Paulo Metropolitan Area — quantifying convenience for potential public transport users based on walking time, and comparing mobility efficiency across multiple transport modes according to their respective travel times.” Diverse experiences The National Observatory for Sustainable Mobility is the result of a partnership between Motiva and the Center for City Research. Its mission is to build and maintain a robust database on urban mobility systems in Brazil’s largest cities and to provide society with data- and evidence-based studies that contribute to improving the quality of decision-making processes. The Observatory’s lead researcher was born in Aracaju, in the state of Sergipe. Since his undergraduate studies, he has been interested in urban economics. “I saw my hometown become increasingly verticalized during a period of real estate credit expansion and began studying how housing relates to the economic environment and the location of urban amenities. After that, I wanted to understand how access to the labor market — facilitated by public transportation — influences income levels,” he recalls. He completed his master’s degree in Curitiba (PR) and his Ph.D. in Juiz de Fora (MG). He later spent ten months in Irvine, a planned city in California. “These are cities with very different planning philosophies.” Participation in the UEA meeting also provided a new perspective on the host city itself. “I took the opportunity to use Montreal’s impressive cycling network, one of the most extensive and well-integrated in North America. It was inspiring to observe how the city combines high-quality cycling infrastructure, sustainable urban planning, and active use of public space — elements that, in practice, reinforce many of the theoretical debates presented at the conference.”  "}]